


Deceitful

by orphan_account



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Bular Becomes Toby's Friend Instead of Aaarrrgghh, F/M, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Gunmar + others are the good guys, How Do I Tag, I don't where i'm going with this, I think I'm using that tag correctly, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm making it up as I go, Mentors, Role Reversal, Strickler Mentors Jim Instead of Blinky, Vendel Blinky Aaarrrgghh + others are the bad guys, Wish me luck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-05 19:39:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17925095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: From what Jim had learned, both from what little information Blinkous would give him and the information provided by his mentor, there were two sides of the war that he had just been thrown into. One side was ruled by Gunmar, the previous king of the Gumm-Gumms, and father to Bular. The other side was ruled by Vendel, the current king of the Gumm-Gumms after having succeeded in taken them away from Gunmar using the Decimaar Blade that Vendel (surprise) had also stolen from Gunmar.Jim could easily tell which side he wanted to be on, just by the way he was treated alone. And that certainly wasn't Vendel's side.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> So, this sprouted off the idea that "Hey, what if Strickler and Blinky switched places?" which lead to everyone switching places. Although, some things still stay the same, so - technically - not everyone switched places. I have a vague idea of where I want this to go but I don't have the whole thing plotted out (which I usually don't, big surprise there) so if there's plot holes (which I really hope there isn't), sorry. 
> 
> Anyways, I've decided to actually give this work a schedule. I plan to update every Monday - although, if I fall behind and don't update, don't worry, the chapter probably just isn't finished yet and will (hopefully) be published before the next Monday. I started this work a month ago(?) and I've only written three full chapters due to the fact that I got caught up with irl and an original work but I hope to write more for it before I run out of pre-written chapters. If I do, however, I will be falling to updates every other Monday instead. I hope a chapter will cheer up your Mondays!
> 
> Onto the actual work!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last fight between the Trollhunter and the ex-Gumm-Gumm King's son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I started this a month ago and am only now posting it. I had only just noticed that Vendel's name had been spelled wrong until now too, so, thank goodness, that I noticed that before I posted it. I don't want to have another Kanjigar situation (aka, I spelled Kanjigar's name "Kanijigar" or something of the sort for three chapters before realizing it was wrong) on my hands. 
> 
> If you notice any mistakes, please tell me! I've gone over it myself (multiple times throughout the month) but I'm currently sick so I don't know if I've missed any!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

He stared at the silver and blue sword currently holding him against his will near the edge of the bridge. The sword was dubbed Daylight if he was correct; not that the sword’s name really mattered to him. It was more so if today was the day that this sword killed him. He had been on this side of the sword many times and had known many who had been on the other side. Once upon a time, the one on the other side of the sword had been on the same side as him. He could barely remember who it had been, but he did remember a lesson that they had taught him. Never give up without a fight, even if fighting seems hopeless. He guessed it went together well with another saying one of his friends had given him; ‘Even the word hopeless is not devoid of hope.’ Or maybe not, Bular wasn’t very good with the merging of sayings.

He snarled, allowing his teeth (more like fangs really) to be shown off. “Yield, Kanjigar.”

Kanjigar, the stupid Trollhunter that he is, laughed. “Now, why would I yield, Bular,” Kanjigar used the tip of his sword to push Bular closer to the edge of the bridge, “when I am the one winning? The sun will be up in a few minutes and then I will reign victorious.” Kanjigar used his spare hand to stroke his chin, a smirk appearing on his lips. “Unless you wish to diverge the location of the missing bridge pieces, then I may be willing to spare you.”

The tip of Daylight pressed hard against Bular’s neck, almost making the troll wish that he had more room. “Never!” Bular spat out, his hands making fists at his side. “Vendel will never escape from the Darklands! Even if that means my father will forever be stuck in battle with him!”

Bular, despite knowing how much it would hurt, grabbed onto Daylight, pushing back against it with everything he had. Bular gave a cry of anguish as he allowed himself to have more room on the beams of the underside of the bridge, pushing Kanjigar away from himself with Daylight. Eventually, though, Kanjigar pulled Daylight away from Bular, almost making the armor-less troll fall between a pair of beams. The fight between Bular and Kanjigar the Trollhunter was far from over yet.  

The two trolls fought the best they could, but with minimal space, that was tough. Bular thought it unfair that he was without a sword as well (his sword had fallen to the ground far too long ago), although, he had a bit better things to say than that. Besides, every other Trollhunter that had fought against Bular had had a sword and they had all fallen to him one way or another. Bular would not allow himself to fall to a Trollhunter - not to someone who was supposed to be on his side. Now was not the time to think about this though, right now was a time to fight.

Bular caught the damn magical sword once more as it came crashing down a bit too close to his face for his liking; a growl escaping his lips as he did so. “Give up already, Kanjigar, I will slay you like I have all the other Trollhunters.”

It was now Kanjigar’s turn to snarl. “There will come a day when you will not be the one to kill a Trollhunter.” Daylight escaped Bular’s grasp, striking him in the side of his arm.

“That day will come when the Trollhunter is back on the right side!” Bular roared, throwing caution to the wind and jumping at the Trollhunter, wrapping his arms around Kanjigar’s middle. Bular gave a push, one as hard as he could muster, and then his hands felt as if they were on fire. The sun had come up, and just in time for Bular to give the finishing blow to Kanjigar and take the Amulet of Daylight.

“No,” Kanjigar huffed out as he stood close to the edge of the bridge, his back slowly turning to stone from the rising sun, “today is that day. You will not be the one to finish me!” Kanjigar crossed his arms over his chest, covering the amulet, and pushed off of the edge.

The Trollhunter turned to stone mere seconds after going over the edge, clattering to the ground with a loud crash as his remains scattered. Kanjigar the Courageous, the Trollhunter, had fallen.

Bular got as close as he could to the edge of the bridge without sunlight touching him, peeking through the gaps in the beams to view Kanjigar’s remains. Bular could see the soft glow of the amulet from where he stood up on the bridge, but it would be impossible to reach it for the sun was encasing it in a cage of light. Bular had to act fast to get down from the beams of the bridge as well, for the sun would not be so forgiving to him if he were still there in a few moments. Bular would stay as close as he could to the amulet, he was not letting it get back into the hands of Vendel’s trolls. Bular stayed hidden in the shadows of the canal, his eyes trained on the amulet like a stalkling watching its prey. With the dark rock that Bular was made of, he blended in very well with the dark shadows the corners of the bridge provided.

Bular sat under the bridge for what felt like days, watching Kanjigar’s remains as carefully as he could. The sun had risen to its full potential, leaving Bular stuck under that bridge until it hid behind the walls of the canal once more. Bular had to say, despite the sun being harmful to him and his people, he liked the way the sky looked as the sun was going down and up. The moon, being a beautiful thing in itself, only really had one sky and that was one full of stars (two if you counted when it was cloudy), the sun, on the other hand, had millions of possibilities. Bular had once asked Stricklander - a friend of his and his father - what the sky looked like on days that Stricklander had seemed to have a bad day. Stricklander would always describe in such detail that Bular could almost picture it.

Bular, from the hidden area of the bridge, heard loud shouts and - what seemed like - laughter coming from the side of the canal. It didn’t take long for the troll to notice where these sounds were coming from, especially since one had practically flown off the side of the canal. Two humans, who had declared that they would soon be late for school (Bular knew the concept of it, Stricklander worked there. It was where humans went to learn if Bular remembered correctly) if they didn’t hurry, had come through the canal as some sort of short cut. Bular hadn’t really paid much attention to the two humans until the one who had jumped off the side of the canal hopped off what Stricklander had told Bular to be a bike, right near the remains of the fallen Trollhunter.

Bular paid even closer attention to the human, although the sound of someone - who weren’t the two humans - talking almost broke Bular’s concentration.

“James Lake.”

Bular’s eyes widened in surprise at the sound of the name, he knew that name, or, at least, a variation of it. Stricklander had called the boy Jim (Stricklander had had to explain nicknames to Bular that day as well) as well as his favourite student in the class. This boy, this Jim, was to be the next Trollhunter. Bular almost didn’t believe his eyes or ears, the next Trollhunter would be human. Not only that, but the boy - in human years - wasn’t even considered fully grown! He was but a - Bular forgot the word Stricklander had called them but he was that! How was a child (yes, that was the word Bular had been looking for) supposed to stop a war that he wasn’t even apart of?

The humans didn’t stay in the canal for long, hopping back on their bikes and speeding off to school after a quick examination of the amulet. Bular would have followed them had the sun not been up, he threw a rock in frustration (it could have very well been a piece of Kanjigar’s remains though). Now would be the perfect time to get the Trollhunter back on the correct side, even if the boy was human he could still do something to help the war. Bular had seen how the humans had grown, how they had gotten guns (although, they weren’t strong enough to fight trolls) and other sort of weapons to fight their own wars. Who was to say that a human child couldn’t learn to wield a sword made out of daylight? Sure, from what Bular had heard from gossip from changelings in hiding, Trollhunter training took decades but surely this Jim Lake would be up for the task. If Jim Lake survived that long that was. Bular had no reason to believe that the trolls down in Trollmarket would accept, let alone train, a human Trollhunter.

Well, Bular was just going to have to talk to Stricklander about it; the man knew the boy better than Bular did. Stricklander would probably be able to find some way of helping Jim Lake in training and in doing so, possibly, get the boy over to their side as well. Stricklander was marginally better with children than Bular was after all; the reasons why were obvious, other than Stricklander being able to look like a human and Bular being a hulking, black troll with scars all over him from previous fights.

It was too bad that Bular had to wait for the sun to go down to really move anywhere though.

 

Bular was just about ready to throw a truck at something (probably a wall or very large tree that wouldn’t be knocked down by the truck) when the sun was finally down low enough that he could leave the shade. Now, all Bular had to do was track down where Stricklander was without getting caught by any humans. That may prove to be a bit difficult, just because the sun was down did not mean that the humans were all tucked into their houses. Bular refused to take the sewers, in case he were to meet up with a troll from Trollmarket and their poisoned minds. He had just finished a fight, Bular did not need to get into another one so soon.

It didn’t seem like Bular would have to wander far for Stricklander’s automobile was parked at the top of the canal. The lights flickered off as Stricklander stepped out of the vehicle, his hand lingering on the door for a moment before promptly shutting it; he had only been making sure that Bular was still in the canal. Stricklander carefully made his way down towards Bular, sliding down the side of the canal as slowly as he could.

“Bular,” Stricklander greeted the large troll. “I overheard that you had a fight with the Trollhunter earlier today.” Oh, well, that wasn’t good. That meant that Bular had been seen by a human. “You’re lucky that most people don’t believe outlandish stories without proof.”

Bular sighed. “I doubt whoever it was saw the majority of our fight,” with one claw, Bular pointed to the beams of the bridge, “it mostly occurred up there.”

Stricklander hummed as he bent down and picked up a remain of Kanjigar. “Have you been here all day, Bular?”

Bular let out a laugh. “You out of everyone know I do not like taking the tunnels, Stricklander,” Bular explained before answering the question. “Yes, I’ve been here all day.”

Placing the piece of Kanjigar down, Stricklander turned to face Bular. “Did you see who got the amulet then?” Stricklander seemed to be calm, but Bular knew that he was excited. Stricklander wanted the Trollhunter back on their side just as much as Bular did. It would mean that stopping the war with victory in their favor even more possible.

Bular couldn’t help but smirked. “That I did.”

Stricklander didn’t seem in the mood for games for he sent a scowl towards Bular. “And?” Stricklander asked with an annoyed tone. “Who is it?”

“A human,” Bular started, laughing at how wide Stricklander’s eyes went wide, “by the name of James - no, you said he liked to be called Jim, correct? - Jim Lake.” Stricklander stayed quiet, which prompted Bular to continue talking. “Stricklander, you could ease him over to our side. The Trollhunter would be fighting on the right side of the battle once more!”

“Are you sure it was Jim?”

Bular nodded slowly, realizing that Stricklander was concerned for the boy. Stricklander had a bad habit for getting attached to humans, he had gotten close to his familiar’s family all those years ago. “The amulet called for a James Lake, I heard his friend call him Jim,” Bular explained. “He was lanky, like a toothpick.” Bular paused, searching for the right words to use. Maybe it wasn’t the Jim Lake that Stricklander had told Bular about. “His hair was dark, I don’t know what word you would use to describe its colour, I don’t get that about humans. His clothes were like the sky in the morning but darker but not as dark as night, I think it was what you would call a jacket.” Bular had never really paid much attention to the colours Stricklander told him about, it was such a trivial human thing. Bular was starting to wish he had, maybe now it would be put to good use in calming his friend’s mind. Bular really didn’t know much about humans.

Stricklander sucked in a breath. “I’ll train him,” Stricklander announced, “I’ll train him and get to him before the others do.” Stricklander switched to a much softer voice. “I just hope that we are not too late.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed a primarily Bular chapter (the only of its kind so far). Jim'll come in next chapter and will stay the main POV unless I switch to Strickler (or Bular, but I've mostly just be staying between Jim and Strickler so far).
> 
> Next chapter: March 4th!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first meeting of trolls and humans where the human actually survives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday everyone! I hope you like this chapter!
> 
> Chapter 4 still isn't done but i've just been procrastinating instead of writing it so that's mostly my fault. I should have it done by the time it should actually come out though, seeing as it's more than 70% done already. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter! And sorry for any mistakes, I don't know how many times I've gone over it but there's probably bound to be a couple.

You know, when Jim found that amulet in a pile of rocks in the canal at eight in the morning, he hadn’t expected this to happen. To be honest, Jim had just been hoping the whole magic talking amulet that knew his name was a prank, a really bad prank. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. That was why, right now in the dead of night, there were two trolls in his basement. That was also why Jim was currently screaming his head off. At least, Jim was pretty sure it was the amulet he had picked up in the canal. Why else would there be trolls in his basement?

There were two trolls in his basement. One was short compared to the other, probably about a foot taller than Jim, and had four arms and six eyes. The short one seemed to be made out of some sort of blue rock, with a large lopsided diamond shaped orange rock in the middle of its face that probably acted as some sort of nose, and worn overalls. Two things of fangs pointed out of the short troll’s mouth, making him look even more scary than he already did. The scariest out of the two trolls had to be the bigger one though.

The bigger troll was probably three feet taller than Jim if it stood up straight, and was glowing. Marks that  seemed to be etched into the bigger troll’s body were glowing green and its eyes were basically black voids with green orbs in them. Let’s just say that this troll scared Jim a lot more than the shorter one did. A lot more. 

The short one groaned, one pair of hands snaking into the hair at the back of its neck. “Stop,” It demanded as it placed a pair of arms on Jim’s shoulders, “stop screaming.” The short one even went as far as to place one of its hands over Jim’s mouth to muffle whatever screaming he had left. Not that Jim didn’t stop screaming when the troll demanded him to, who knew what kind of damage they could do to Jim if they were angry. 

“Afraid,” The large one pointed out, its voice deep but not as deep as Jim had been thinking. 

“Yes, yes,” The short one waved away the large one, “I know the boy is afraid, Aaarrrgghh.” Jim couldn’t tell if Aaarrrgghh was the name of the large troll or a sound that the shorter troll was making to imitate Jim. The shorter troll turned back to face Jim, staring at him with disappointment in each eye. “Do you know what we are, human?” 

Jim had half the mind to say “Something that could probably easily kill me right now?” but didn’t and instead only mumbled against the shorter trolls hand. What Jim had ended up saying was, “I don’t know, trolls?” That had been what Jim had addressed them as in his head after all. 

The shorter troll blinked all six eyes at different times, making Jim feel like he was being watched by six individual people; a very uneasy feeling, that’s for sure. The shorter troll’s eyes traveled to its own hand, placed roughly upon Jim’s mouth. “Ah.” Was all the troll said before removing the blue (Jim was pretty sure it was made of stone?) hand. “Repeat what you said.” 

Jim didn’t say anything until the shorter troll let go of him, placing Jim back onto the, safe, ground. Jim rubbed his jaw, the troll had a pretty good grip on him before. “I said,” Jim began, losing his confidence to continue the sentence in the same, normal tone he used after looking at the larger troll once more, “I don’t know?” Jim’s voice sounded weak. 

The shorter one sighed in annoyance. “Well,” It placed a hand onto its chest, “I am a troll - as is,” it gestured to the large troll, “Aaarrrgghh.” So the large troll was called Aaarrrgghh; Jim found that to be a slightly strange name, but it was a troll’s name after all. Aaarrrgghh only made a noise of acknowledgement. “We are here because you have our amulet.” 

“Oh.” Jim would have thought it had been a different thing than that, like the amulet was something special that gave him special abilities or something and they would kill him if he didn’t hand it over. Jim had half expected the trolls to be more demanding and threatening, right now they just seemed really calm. “If that’s all I can go grab it and then you two can, you know, leave?” Jim may be acting calm on the exterior, but internally, Jim was freaking out as hard as he could. 

Aaarrrgghh stopped Jim from getting to the stairs. One of the large fingers of Aaarrrgghh’s large hand found itself being pressed onto Jim’s chest. “Amulet yours now.” Aaarrrgghh gave Jim a stern look. “Comes with responsibilities. Lots.” 

Jim only nodded, too afraid to speak another word. Aaarrrgghh, despite not talking very much, was very threatening. Especially seeing as it (he? Jim didn’t really know, but he should really stop calling the trolls an it) loomed over Jim like a - Jim didn’t really know, but it was terrifying; the guy could probably kill Jim whenever he wanted too. 

The troll whose name Jim hadn’t learned yet nodded his head. “Aaarrrgghh is right in that regard, the amulet is yours now and there are a multitude of different responsibilities that the Trollhunter must uphold.” He took Jim’s hands into his own, holding them just as tight as he had Jim’s mouth. “These responsibilities are now yours, whether you want them or not.” 

Jim shook his head. “What? You’re- you’re not serious, right?” 

The troll’s six eyes blinked much like they had before; one at a time. “Why, what other emotion would I be?” Letting go of Jim’s hands, the troll gave Jim a disappointed look. “Do you doubt what I am telling you, whelp?” Jim could barely tell but there seemed to be a hint of anger in the troll’s voice. Jim didn’t even want to question why the troll was calling him a whelp, whatever that was. Jim had a feeling it might be an insult or something of the sort. 

Jim nervously chuckled, grabbing a hold of his forearm with his hand and giving it a tight squeeze. “Well, I mean, there’s got to be a way out of - of that, right?” 

Aaarrrgghh made a rumbling noise. “Death.” 

“I - um - yeah,” Jim swallowed, “I don’t wanna die.” 

The short troll was about to answer before a ticking noise went off, making him close his mouth into a frown. He pulled something - it looked, sort of , like a pocket watch - out of the pocket of his pants, examining it for a moment before turning to Aaarrrgghh who gave a nod. Sighing the shorter troll then turned to Jim. “I believe that we’re going to have to cut this meeting short. We will return.” He explained as he followed Aaarrrgghh up the stairs before turning back to face Jim once more in the middle of the stairs. “Next time, we won’t leave this house without you.” 

Jim just allowed the two trolls to leave, not really wanting to get them annoyed at him and possibly maul him. Yeah, Jim really did not want to die. 

Making his way back upstairs to the living room, Jim gave a sigh. Really, could this day get any weirder? First, Jim finds a talking amulet calling his name in a pile of rocks in a canal, and now his home’s been invaded by trolls who were way too real to be animatronics or something of the sort. This was not just some silly little prank like Jim had thought when he had first picked up the amulet, this was real. This was all too real. There were trolls, who knows how many, and now Jim was to be the Trollhunter and do whatever sort of things that a Trollhunter does! Jim hadn’t even had anytime to ask the troll what being the Trollhunter meant, he had been too worried about the fact that he couldn’t not be the Trollhunter unless he wanted to die. As it’s been stated before, Jim doesn’t want to die.  

The amulet on the coffee table gave a light glow, distracting Jim from the open back door. Picking up the amulet, Jim turned it over in his hand, giving it a good look, front and back. It just seemed like a normal amulet, with nothing special about it. After what had just happened in the basement, Jim knew how wrong that was. 

Jim could still hear the amulet call for him from when he was in the canal, the echo of the shared name bouncing off the walls. Jim didn’t know how to feel about being picked as the Trollhunter (at least, he assumed he was picked? He didn’t actually know how the amulet worked) but he did know that the magic, talking amulet was a bit strange. It hadn’t talked since Jim had picked it up though, so Jim supposed that was a good thing. He didn’t exactly want a talking amulet to speak during the middle of school. Although, Jim could always pass it off as his phone, saying he replaced the Gun Robot one with one of his name being said. 

Jim placed the amulet back on the coffee table, giving another sigh as he ran his hand down his face. “What have I gotten myself into?” Taking another look at the amulet, Jim shook his head. “What have  _ you  _ gotten me into?” 

Jim felt the need to tell someone, anyone, but who would he tell? Toby was probably already asleep and he had things to do over the next two days, meaning Jim wouldn’t get the chance to talk to Toby during or after school. Jim wasn’t saying that he wouldn’t eventually tell Toby, he would, but he just wouldn’t do it now. Jim’s mum - Barbara - had enough on her plate and didn’t need the fact that trolls exist added onto it, not to mention the fact that Jim had become a Trollhunter for them (he was forced by the stupid amulet but still). There was really only one other person Jim trusted but he could only see said person during school, his teacher - Mr. Strickler - was someone Jim had become close with over the months he had been in the school. Mr. Strickler would probably think Jim to be crazy though, same with Barbara and possibly Toby. 

Jim flopped down onto the couch, giving a groan. Just what was he supposed to do? 

 

\---

 

Stricklander sat at his desk, mindlessly marking papers as he let his mind wander to other things. Stricklander found the motion of marking papers calming and he usually did it when he something much too stressful for him to just think about while doing nothing else. Right now, the main thing that’s been stuck in his head since last night, was the fact Jim was the Trollhunter. If Stricklander didn’t get to him before the trolls did who knew what would happen? 

Stricklander couldn’t help but think of the worst possibilities that could happen if he didn’t get to Jim fast enough. The trolls could brainwash him, slowly, of course, but enough that Jim would eventually be against his own kind. They could even kill Jim when they first find him. Stricklander was sure he had heard of a potion that turned one’s self into a troll as well, or maybe that was just a myth. It was hard to tell with things like trolls, wizards, and changelings wandering around in the world. It was hard when you were a changeling yourself. 

Stricklander gave a sigh, pushing away the stack of papers, setting his pen down, and massaging the bridge of his nose. Even marking essays didn’t seem to be helping with the amount of stress Stricklander felt right now. Why, oh why, did Stricklander have to get attached to humans? Nomura didn’t have this sort of trouble, then again, Normura hadn’t really gotten the chance to really get a feel for what it felt to be human until now. 

Stricklander groaned as he pushed himself away from his desk. Everything he thought of lead back to trolls, and he did not want that. Stricklander wanted to think of ways to protect Jim from the trolls (which, still made Stricklander think of trolls, but more so fighting against them than just casually thinking about them), even if that meant training the boy. Stricklander wouldn’t make Jim fight for them, not if he didn’t want to, but Stricklander would, for sure, make sure that Jim was able to defend himself if any of the trolls decided that they didn’t care about being hidden from humans anymore. 

A knock at his door made Stricklander realize that students were at the school (how he had not realized that until now, he had no idea. Stricklander had probably been too caught up in his thoughts to notice any bells). Stricklander fixed the position of his desk chair, placing the papers in a neat little stack once again. 

Stricklander flashed a small smile. “Come in.” 

Surprisingly, it was Jim Lake who walked through Stricklander’s office door. Just the boy Stricklander had been thinking of. 

“Ah, Jim,” Stricklander rested his hands onto his desk, “what is it you need help with?” 

Jim, from Stricklander’s observations, looked nervous as he held onto the strap of his bag tight even to make his knuckles white. “Um.” Yes, Jim was definitely nervous, standing next to the chair instead of sitting on it. 

Stricklander gestured to the stool in front of his desk. “Please, sit. You do not need to stand if you don’t want to.” 

Jim took the stool, sitting on it once before adjusting the height to his preference. “I don’t really know how to say this,” Jim started, his hands moving from the strap of his bag of the sides of the stool along, “but something,” Jim paused, probably thinking of a word, “something strange happened last night. It’s actually really unbelievable that it happened, really. You might not actually believe me, that’s how unbelievable it is.” Jim gave a nervous laugh, his eyes leaving Stricklander’s to look at the ground. “But-but, I’m telling you, it’s true.” There was a hint of desperation in Jim’s voice. Stricklander could tell that Jim wanted Stricklander to believe him. 

Stricklander adjusted his sitting position, giving Jim a concerned glance. Had he already run into the trolls? Stricklander certainly hoped Jim hadn’t, who knows what kind of lies they had already put into the boy’s head. “I promise you, Jim, I will believe anything you tell me. No matter how outlandish it may be.” Stricklander knew of the strange things that happened in Arcadia, being one himself after all. 

Jim seemed to take in a breath before looking back up at Stricklander. “Last night two-two,” Jim groaned slightly, “two things showed up at my house.”

Stricklander adjusted his sitting position once again. “Things?” 

Jim nodded, releasing his death grip on the stool. “Yeah. Things.” Jim gave a wave of his hand. “Guys, but they were really - super - weird.” Jim shook his head, making gestures with his hands. “One-one had these eyes, there was probably - I don’t know - probably six of them? Another was really, really tall, and there was hair all over him. And he was glowing!” Stricklander was starting to not like these descriptions of these strange ‘guys.’ Jim got quiet compared to when he was describing the guys. “They said they were trolls, at least, that’s what I guessed and they said yes. They could’ve been lying.” It was almost as if Jim had tried to make those two sentences unheard from Stricklander. Thankfully, due to changeling genetics (or, possibly, because the boy hadn’t said them quiet enough), Stricklander had heard Jim. 

Stricklander didn’t really know what to say. Jim had just come out right and said that trolls had visited him last night, which meant that the trolls knew that Jim was the Trollhunter - that the Trollhunter was a human. The trolls hadn’t killed Jim, thank goodness, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t. 

Stricklander took in a breath that was, hopefully, silent. “It sounds like these,” he paused on the word, “trolls are trying to get you to do something you don’t want to do, from the way you’ve been acting that’s what I’ve picked up on. Please, correct me if I’m wrong.” Trolls had another meaning in this day and age, right? There were internet trolls and the such, if Jim did question why Stricklander was questioning his sanity he could always blame it on that. Not that Stricklander was seriously not considering telling Jim of his changeling status. 

Jim’s hands found their way back to his bag’s strap. “I- um - yeah.” Jim didn’t need to tell Stricklander what they wanted him to be, Stricklander knew fully well. 

Stricklander stood up from his chair, the object becoming very uncomfortable to him, and stood next to Jim, placing a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You do not need to do anything for them,” Stricklander explained calmly, looking Jim start in the eyes. “Do not let them force you. You are your own person, and they do not control you.” The bell rang, making both men’s eyes shoot up to the ceiling. Glancing back down at Jim, Stricklander gave a face of concern. “My door is always open if you need any further help with this situation. Please, don’t be afraid to knock, Jim.” 

Jim gave a small nod. “I won’t, Mr. Strickler.” Jim stopped by the door, his hand holding onto the edge of it, before turning back to Stricklander. “Thanks for the advice.” 

Stricklander gave a small nod to the boy before watching him leave the room completely. 

 

\---

 

Jim found himself back at home soon enough after school, his mind wandering to crazy,  _ crazy,  _ things. He didn’t want to be the Trollhunter. Jim already had enough on his plate with school and helping his mum take care of herself (goodness knows that she would forget to do that), he didn’t need what the Trollhunter did on top of that. The chat with Mr. Strickler had helped, made Jim feel a bit better. Ultimately, though, Jim still felt stressed to the max. These trolls wanted Jim to do something that he didn’t even know of before last night. 

Jim took a breath, all he needed was some fresh air. That was probably it. Right?

Taking a step outside, Jim sat down on the back porch, staring out at the forest behind his house. Yeah, that didn’t help. Those trolls could be lurking around in that forest at this very moment, ready to jump out at Jim and scare the crap out of him. 

Jim stood back up, knocking something down in the process. The clink of something metal hitting the ground made Jim look down at his feet, which lead to him noticing the amulet that he had carried around with him in school. Jim was pretty sure he had left it in his bag, which was hanging on the stairs railing. So, how did the amulet get outside and beside Jim?

The amulet glowed softly in Jim’s hand, allowing the strange lettering to pop out at Jim for the first time. How Jim hadn’t noticed it before was strange for the lettering round all around the amulet. Raising the amulet to eye level, Jim watched as the letters all shifted from whatever language they were in before to English. 

Squinting his eyes, Jim read the words off the amulet. “For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command?” It was a strange string of words.

Although, what happened after was even stranger. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed Jim's and Strickler's point of view. I feel like Jim - despite how crazy it would sound - would tell Strickler the truth instead of lying and saying it's chess club just because I feel like they would have a better relationship in this AU than they did in canon due to the fact that Strickler isn't against the humans and actually gets attached to humans. 
> 
> ...I hope that made sense...
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Next Chapter: MARCH 11th


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim decides to explain the situation to his best friend, Toby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, look, a new chapter! happy monday everyone!
> 
> also, i've forgotten to say this last chapter, but thank you for everyone who comments and leaves kudos! i don't always know how to respond to comments so sorry if i don't but i do read them all!
> 
> hope you enjoy the chapter!

Jim had no idea what he was thinking. Really, busting into a dentist’s appointment and staying there for eight hours? He really could’ve just told Toby to meet him at his house once he was done with the appointment. Sure, it would have left Jim sitting in the living room (or in his room) thinking, but sitting in the waiting room of a dentist’s wasn’t as comfortable as his couch. Still, Jim wanted to tell Toby, a.s.a.p. 

Thankfully, Toby was allowed to stay over at Jim’s for the night so they would have all night to talk about what new happenings were going on in Jim’s life. Nana Domzalski was a wonderful lady, really, allowing Jim and Toby to have a sleepover on a school night (it wasn’t like Jim and Toby went to a different school or that Jim didn’t already make Toby lunch).

That was how Jim found himself standing in front of Toby as he rummaged the freezer for something cold to num the pain. 

“Tobes,” Jim frowned as Toby pulled out a slice of pizza from the microwave. “Pay attention, please.” 

Toby let out a laugh. “I am, don’t worry Jimbo.” Says the boy munching on a piece of slightly cold pizza that would have probably been better had it been thrown into the stove instead of the microwave. 

Jim shook his head, now was not the time to mother his friend. Jim took in a breath as he held the amulet in front of him, closing his eyes for good measure just in case, much like he had last night. “For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command.” 

Only to open them a moment later to see that whatever had happened last night, hadn’t happened now.

Holding the amulet a little above his head, Jim gave it a good look, flipping it over in his hand. “It worked last night.” What had been so different last night than it was today?

Jim had been scared. He had been scared that the trolls that had been in his basement would decide that they would change their minds and come kill Jim. Jim was scared that they would come during the day (if they even could) and scare his mother. Jim was just scared about everything, really. That was what had been different from last night to now. Jim wasn’t scared now, he just wanted to show Toby what the amulet could do. At least, that was the only thing that Jim could really tell was different. He had said the words and raised it to his eyes and all that already. 

Jim frowned as he stared at the amulet in his hand, he wanted it to work. What if those trolls came here and decided, hey, Toby’s not the Trollhunter or a troll, he shouldn’t be around Jim, and killed him? What if Jim’s mum came home earlier than she was supposed to and saw the trolls? What if the trolls came back, period? 

The blinding, blue light from last night was back, wrapping around Jim like a blanket. The pieces of blue and silver armor formed, one by one, each finding their way onto Jim’s body. Jim half expected the armor to be too big for his body like it had the day before - when he had first saw the words appear on the amulet - but the armor fit like it had after it had somehow adjusted to Jim’s body. Jim didn’t really mind that the armor didn’t have to adjust itself to fit Jim’s form every single time he put on the armor. 

So, the amulet reacted to fear. At least, that was what Jim could tell, unless the amulet reacted to ‘what if’ thoughts then Jim was probably right. He had been having thoughts about the trolls coming and deciding that they didn’t care that Jim was the Trollhunter (Jim still didn’t really know what that really meant, to be honest) and did some really,  _ really _ , horrible things. Hey, at least Jim has some armor to protect him, more or less. 

“Holy champignon!” Toby exclaimed as the pizza - that had been floating? - fell back onto his hand. Toby, being well known what superheroes did, then started to freak out about Jim now being a superhero of sorts. After several ‘Oh my gosh’ and some time for Toby to actually breath, he turned to look at Jim with a smile on his face. “You have a sacred responsibility here!” 

Jim thought back about what the trolls had said in his basement. “Yeah,” He mumbled, “they said that, too.” 

Toby continued to freak out until he realized that Jim had said something, which was a good minute after Jim had actually said it. “Wait, who’s ‘they?’”

Jim held his head. “That’s what I’ve been freaking out over. There’s these-” Jim didn’t have time to finish his sentence before there was a pounding on the back door. Oh no.

There stood the very same troll that Jim had met in his basement (which made Toby freak out as soon as he saw the troll), his six eyes looking in on the house like a hawk searching for his prey. Jim was the prey. The troll had no trouble in breaking open the front door, stomping up to Jim and grabbed a hold of his arm before heading back towards the door, probably to leave and drag Jim with him. “The armor is not to be played with, whelp,” The troll spat out, saying the last word as if it was venom. It wasn’t until the troll spotted Toby, hiding behind the counter, that he stopped stomping back towards the door. “Nor is it meant to be shown off to chubby, little humans who aren’t even supposed to know about trolls!” The troll was certainly angry with Jim, seeing as his grip had tightened around Jim’s arm. Thankfully, the armor did protect Jim, if only a little, from the pressure. 

Toby reached for the phone on the counter. “I’m calling 911! No, Animal Control!” 

The troll turned back to Jim with a scowl. “No human is supposed to know about trolls,” He explained as he tugged Jim closer to him. “You are lucky you are the Trollhunter or you would be dead where you stand.” Jim wanted to say something, how the fact that the secret  _ trolls  _ exist was technically out in the open because of the troll (really, Jim still didn’t even know his name - Aaarrrgghh’s friend, for now, although, Aaarrrgghh himself wasn’t there for whatever reason) who had busted into Jim’s house; all Jim had really done was show Toby the armor. Aaarrrgghh’s friend made a humming sort of noise, almost with more of a rumble with it than a human’s hum would have. “I believe I have found you your first mission, Trollhunter.” 

“Mission?” Jim questioned, not knowing that he would have to go on mission. Well, that was to be expected, Aaarrrgghh’s friend hadn’t really explained much about the Trollhunter business other than that there were responsibilities that would be Jim’s until he died. 

“Animal Control hung up on me,” Toby said, defeatedly as he brought his attention back to Jim and Aaarrrgghh’s friend. 

A smirk appeared on Aaarrrgghh’s friend’s face as he turned back to look at Toby. “Yes, mission. And, your first one is to rid of the human.” He gestured to Toby with one of his four hands, letting go of Jim with his other. 

“Woah, hold on,” Jim raised his hands as he backed away from Aaarrrgghh’s friend, “get rid of?” Jim nervously laughed, looking between Aaarrrgghh’s friend and Toby. “You don’t mean-”

“Kill? Yes, yes I do,” Aaarrrgghh’s friend answered before Jim could even finish his question. “Although if you would like another word I can give you some. Murder. Slay.” He started to list off words, some of which didn’t even sound like English to Jim. 

“What?” Both Jim and Toby exclaimed at the same time. 

“I don’t wanna be killed!”

“I’m not going to kill Toby!”

Aaarrrgghh’s friend frowned as he turned back to look at Jim. “Humans aren’t supposed to know about the existence of trolls, Trollhunter. If you are to protect the trolls, as is your job, you are to rid of any human who finds out.”

There seemed to be a flaw in Aaarrrgghh’s friend’s logic. “If you kill whatever human learns about trolls, then the police will investigate the murder. They’ll find out that trolls exist eventually  _ because  _ of your way of getting rid of them,” Jim explained, trying to get Toby to leave as he did so. Toby didn’t seem to be getting the hint. 

“That is why we don’t leave a body,” Aaarrrgghh’s friend pointed out, “we get those who like humans to eat it!” 

Jim stopped in his tracks; the fact that some trolls eat humans was good to know. Now he didn’t just have Aaarrrgghh and his friend to worry about, Jim had a whole bunch of other trolls to worry about! “That’s even worse! If people just randomly go missing, there will still be an investigation. Meaning, eventually, you guys won’t be a secret anymore.” Jim tried to get rid of the thought that he was talking to a murderer right now, it wasn’t working all that well. Well, Jim didn’t really know if Aaarrrgghh’s friend was a murderer but Jim, kind of, had a feeling. 

Aaarrrgghh’s friend stared daggers at Jim. “Fine. I suppose,” He paused, glancing back at Toby who was still freaking out over the fact that the troll wanted Jim to kill him, “your friend can live.” Jim brought in a sigh of relief that was short lived as Aaarrrgghh’s friend grabbed onto Jim’s arm once more, pulling him towards the back door. “But you, whelp, are coming with me. I did say that I would not leave this house without you the next time I came. So, come along.” They were nearly out the door when Aaarrrgghh’s friend turned back to Toby. “Don’t you think about following us, human, or else the Trollhunter would not be the one to be your end.” 

“Jim!”

Jim only offered Toby a small smile. “I’ll be fine, Tobes.” The ‘hopefully’ went unsaid. “I’ll be back before my mom gets home.” Another ‘hopefully.’ “Just stay here, please.” Jim had armor, Toby did not. Although, Jim had no idea if the armor would really do anything against other trolls. 

Aaarrrgghh’s friend didn’t give Toby the time to respond, pulling Jim away from the house as fast as he could it seemed. The troll had a good grip on Jim’s arm, making it nearly impossible to escape. Jim would have followed but he somehow doubted that Aaarrrgghh’s friend would believe him. Well, Jim just hoped that wherever they were going wasn’t too far away and Aaarrrgghh’s friend’s hand didn’t leave a bruise. Although, if it did, it was a good thing Jim usually wore a sweater. 

 

\---

 

Stricklander pulled up to the house, adjusting his jacket as he got out of the car. There wasn’t a car in the driveway, which meant that Doctor Lake wasn’t home or the Lake household just didn’t own a car. Stricklander didn’t really know which one he would rather it be (although, with the fact that Doctor Lake was, well, a doctor, her not having a car was very slim). He had been hoping on talking to Jim alone, but if Doctor Lake was there as well, explaining some things would be difficult but Stricklander had hoped to meet the women soon. Stricklander shook his head as he stepped up to the door. 

Stricklander had decided - with some encouragement from Bular - to go and explain the situation to Jim before the other trolls - the ones from Trollmarket - decided to claim the boy as their own; or worse, killed Jim. Stricklander would explain the situation to Jim and then introduce him to Bular, would only been a couple of feet away from the house. Bular was currently hiding out in the woods behind the Lake house, far away from eyes but close enough to walk. 

Stricklander knocked upon the door, hopefully not acting too nervous. There was a chance that the amulet had chosen wrong, that Jim had just picked it up and wasn’t the Trollhunter and Stricklander didn’t need to introduce the boy to a war. Stricklander truly cared about humanity, Jim included, and wouldn’t want to burden any of them with the war that was currently happening between the two sides of the trolls. Not to mention that Jim was but a child. Stricklander really did hope that the amulet hadn’t chosen Jim; that the amulet had only called to Jim (Stricklander didn’t really know if he could trust Bular’s memory though) to be protected by the human until further notice.

Sadly, Stricklander knew that that was all but just a fantasy. 

Jim was to be the Trollhunter, and someone was going to have to train him. Stricklander, if needed, would take up the mantle of training Jim - the first human Trollhunter. Bular might be of some help to training the human Trollhunter, if Stricklander could convince him to, at least. Bular was hopeful that Jim would be the Trollhunter that would put a stop to this war, having the boy not be on either side of the war at the beginning and then have him chose a side - hopefully Gunmar’s - but that didn’t mean Bular wouldn’t have trouble trusting Jim. After years of the Trollhunter being against Bular, there was bound to be some trust issues, even if the Trollhunter happened to be human. 

The door Stricklander had been standing in front of for a good minute or so finally opened, although it wasn’t Jim or his mother that opened the door. Instead, Jim’s friend - Tobias Domzalski - stood in front of Stricklander, a look of pure terror on his face. 

Stricklander only needed to glance around the behind the boy to figure out what had made Toby so afraid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there wasn't really much going on in this chapter but i like how it happened, next chapter also has not a lot happening now that i think about it as well. i'm more so skipping the parts that i feel would be too close to the actually show and getting the parts where i think are completely different. 
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoyed!
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER: March 18th


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim follows Aaarrrgghh's friend towards wherever they may be heading; Stricklander worries for Jim's safety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another, kind of, boring chapter. It's Sunday when I put this in the drafts since I want to be able to post earlier than I did last week so hopefully I have the fifth chapter done by then. If not, I really hope I have it done before it's supposed to come out. I'm a bit behind on pre-writing chapters due to things I do during the day. If I don't make next Monday's upload, I'll probably push them back to every other week just to give myself more time to write the chapters. 
> 
> Also, thank you everyone who comments and kudos! It really means a lot and I do read all of them even if I don't reply, sometimes I just don't know how to!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The back door hung on its hinges like its life depended on it, and, despite what the lock mechanism said, the door was clearly not locked as it hung open; meaning that the door had been busted open. Meaning that someone had broken into the Lake house. 

“Mr. Strickler!” Stricklander’s eyes fell back onto Toby, the scared expression on the boy’s face morphing into one a little less scared and more hopeful. 

Stricklander couldn’t help but a feel a wave of worry fly over him. “Mr. Domzalski, where is Jim?” Stricklander asked, his voice betraying him and allowing the concern to seep out into his voice. Being scared for Jim would not help Toby calm down. Toby didn’t seem calm enough to really say anything at the moment, if Stricklander was being honest. Stricklander looked Toby directly in the eye. “Tobias, where is Jim? He could be in danger.” Stricklander had really hoped not to pull that card but if what Stricklander was thinking, Jim very well could be in danger. Toby needed to tell Stricklander what had happened, quickly. If Bular hadn’t caught what happened before Stricklander got to the house, who knows how far Jim could be. 

 

\---

 

Jim wasn’t expecting to stay on the main road for so long; he had expected Aaarrrgghh’s friend to pull into the forest the first chance the troll got, pulling Jim to some dark and scary cave while he was at it. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Instead, Aaarrrgghh’s friend lead (more like pulled, really. Jim’s arm was going to be a big bruise from how hard the troll was hanging onto it) Jim towards the canal. Honestly, after the dark and scary cave bit, the canal was Jim’s next choice. It had been the place where Jim had found the amulet after all (and totally not because of the stories where trolls live under bridges and that place was the only bridge Jim could really recall around Arcadia). Although, in all of Jim’s years of playing around the canal, not once had the boy found anything that resembled a camp - let alone one that would belong to trolls. No matter how stealthy a troll would be, Jim had a hard time thinking that one would be able to clean up an entire camp before a ten year old (or any human, really) got too close.

Aaarrrgghh’s friend pulled Jim closer as the two of them made their way down into the canal. Jim wasn’t sure if Aaarrrgghh’s friend wanted to keep him close or not, for the troll seemed to keep Jim as far away as he personally could while also keeping the human dressed in magical armor within arms reach. If Jim wasn’t already considering trolls weird, he certainly did now. Not the cool kind of weird where they would sprout out about interesting subjects at random points in time (like what would happen if you sent a human to a planet where one day there was twenty years on Earth) but the scary kind of weird (the kind where they could make a simple sentence creepy, take “I’m watching you” for example. If it came from Jim’s mum, he would take it as playful type of way, but with Aaarrrgghh’s friend, Jim would be terrified. Jim was terrified). 

The weird part was certainly proven when Aaarrrgghh’s friend (Jim really needed to learn his name) stopped in front of a wall under the bridge that crossed the canal. 

Aaarrrgghh’s friend pulled something out of his many pockets (Jim couldn’t exactly count how many there were, but he suspected it was either the same or more as how many arms the troll had) and held it in his hand. The thing - whatever it was - looked like a glowing, orange piece of crystal that was stuck onto a handle with a lot of hot glue. Aaarrrgghh’s friend, taking a glance to the crystal thing, groaned as he - violently - let go of Jim’s arm.

“Don’t go anywhere,” He nearly growled as he made his way closer to the wall, switching his hands so that the crystal was in the one that had previously been holding onto Jim. Jim only nodded in response, too intrigued and afraid to really say anything. 

Pressing the crystal up against the wall, Aaarrrgghh’s friend traced over something, Jim wasn’t sure what but it almost looked as if someone had traced it multiple times; if the shape of the outline said anything, Jim suspected it was going to be a semi-circle. As Aaarrrgghh’s friend traced the outline, the crystal left a glowing, orange line, Jim didn’t exactly know how it did but it did (that would be a question for Toby) and Jim thought it was cool. Just watching as the orange line extended across the wall, making what almost seemed to be a door of sorts. Aaarrrgghh’s friend huffed as he finished the semi-circle, pulling away only to place one of his four hands onto the wall right in the middle of the semi-circle. Jim didn’t know what to expect but he most certainly wasn’t expecting the wall around Aaarrrgghh’s hand to crumble into nothing. Jim would say it was like magic, but it probably was magic. Trolls and magical armor existed so why not just plain old magic? 

Jim sat there, just staring at the archway that had just materialized right in front of him. Although, it wasn’t long before Aaarrrgghh’s friend grew annoyed with Jim.

Aaarrrgghh’s friend frowned as he made his way behind Jim. “You first, Trollhunter.” Jim kind of figured that Aaarrrgghh’s friend was only doing that to keep an eye on Jim. 

Jim, who hadn’t really noticed that his mouth had been hanging open (must have been the fact that he was too preoccupied with the doorway) and closed it, made his way towards the archway. “I...um, yeah. I’ll go first, I guess.” 

The archway was longer than one that you would find in a house, but what was on the other side didn’t really shock Jim. It was, as Jim had previously thought Aaarrrgghh’s friend was taking him, a dark and scary cave. Although, the hole was new. Jim didn’t want to get too close to the hole in the ground, in case Aaarrrgghh’s friend got any ideas of pushing Jim into it. Although, that may have been the reason Aaarrrgghh’s friend had taken Jim here in the first place. 

Aaarrrgghh’s friend, seemingly still annoyed at Jim from when he had just been standing there, gave Jim a push towards the hole. “Go on, Trollhunter.” 

Surprisingly, when Jim had been pushed, it hadn’t been a very hard one on - well, compared to what it might have been. Jim turned to give Aaarrrgghh’s friend a questioning glance, only to be pulled back towards the hole once more. The hole wasn’t a bottomless pit like Jim had thought it was. Instead, it was lined with crystals that lit a vibrant blue (a darker shade than the blue glow that the amulet emitted) up as Jim grew closer to the hole. The crystals lined the side of the hole, spiraling down like a staircase, and Jim couldn’t help but think that that was what the crystals were there for. So, Jim jumped on the first crystals, watching one further down light up as he did; that only motivated him to go further (that and the impending thought that if he didn’t, Aaarrrgghh’s friend might push him harder than he did before). 

The surprises didn’t stop at the crystal spiral staircase, and the further Jim got into the cave, the more crystals he could see. There many of them, and if Toby was here, he would probably be able to name them; Jim knew they weren’t just called crystals. 

Eventually, the crystals opened up, making Jim stop in front of a staircase made of stone. What was in front of Jim seemed to be something out of a fantasy book or comic. There were stalls, trolls of all shapes and sizes and colours wandered around them, stopping every once in awhile to look at something. Although, that wasn’t what surprised Jim the most. No, that was the giant crystal in the center of it all. 

The crystal was massive, almost reaching the tall ceiling of whatever this place was, and that was mostly the only thing that really amazed Jim. Unlike the rest of the crystals, this one wasn’t a vibrant colour but a dull - almost dying - orange. There were shades of grey coming from the edges, almost as if it was draining the colour away. The giant crystal almost looked like it was dying, if that could happen, Jim didn’t really know if it could. That would be a question Jim would have to ask Toby. 

Jim felt two hands land on his shoulder roughly. “Ah, yes, the Heartstone. You can admire it later, whelp. We are going to the Forge. Aaarrrgghh will train you on how to be a proper Trollhunter.” Aaarrrgghh’s friend lead Jim away from the stairs, and away from the dying-looking crystal. 

Jim didn’t really understand where they were going, but it almost seemed as if Aaarrrgghh’s friend was trying to keep them away from other trolls. Jim didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, especially with how Aaarrrgghh’s friend had been acting. Jim didn’t really know if he wanted to meet any other trolls. Aaarrrgghh himself seemed fine? Jim didn’t really know, to be honest, he had only met Aaarrrgghh once. 

Well, Jim was just about to meet Aaarrrgghh for a second time. For once Aaarrrgghh’s friend had brought Jim to the place where they had been heading (a large open room with several pillars, each having a different statue of a troll on top, and a large, deadly, contraption in the middle) Jim saw the large green troll once again. Aaarrrgghh was running around the middle bit of the room, jumping from twisting platform to another. It wasn’t until Aaarrrgghh’s friend called Aaarrrgghh down that the larger troll of the two stopped jumping around. 

Aaarrrgghh’s friend smirked as he turned to face Jim. “Trollhunter, since I am not suitable to physically train you, Aaarrrgghh has taken up that mantle.” The troll didn’t physically get closer, but it sure felt like it. “I do hope you last longer than one session.” Jim couldn’t say for sure, but he was pretty sure that he caught a bit of sarcasm in that sentence. 

There was one thing Jim was sure of though, and that was the fact that he was glad he was wearing the armor. For, once Aaarrrgghh’s friend gave a subtle nod to the giant, Jim was thrown across the room by Aaarrrgghh.

 

\---

 

Stricklander was glad for the fact that - despite leaving the Janus Order many years ago - he still had some control over the goblins. He had been able to get a stray goblin to help him find where Blinkous (if that's what the Trollhunter’s trainer’s name truly was anyway, Bular was known to be mistaken at times) taken Jim, and had been too late, as it seemed. Stricklander had no clue as to how long it had been before he had stopped off at the Lake house, let alone how long it had taken him and Bular to find a goblin to even get to help find where Jim had been taken. Blinkous could have already taken Jim across the world and Stricklander wouldn’t even know. 

Yet, that didn’t stop him from waiting at the point where the goblin had taken them. 

The underside of the bridge crossing the canal was an interesting place with many things having happened near, or directly, by it; Bular defeating the previous Trollhunter, Jim being chosen by the amulet, and who knows what else. Stricklander hadn’t been totally surprised that this area may very well be the entrance to Trollmarket but he was completely baffled as to how to open the doorway. Without any way to open the door to Trollmarket, there wasn’t any plausible way to rescue Jim from Blinkous and Aaarrrgghh. 

So, Stricklander’s plan was to wait and hope that the boy would exit Trollmarket without any fatal injuries. 

That was how Stricklander found himself standing near one end of the bridge in the middle of the night, fiddling with his pen - and key to his secret room behind his office - and waiting for the human Trollhunter to exit Trollmarket alive. Stricklander tried to stop his thoughts from wandering too far into the deep, dark pits of thoughts that he would sometimes have. Those thoughts mostly consisted with the fact that Jim, very well, may be very dead and had been for the past (checking his watch, Strickler could see that it was nearly two am) six hours. There was even a chance that Blinkous had just brought the boy’s body - after killing him near Jim’s very own house - to Trollmarket to feed some troll and that was why the goblin had brought Stricklander all the way here. 

Although, those thoughts had been nulled when a doorway of sorts opened up near Stricklander; out of the doorway tumbled Jim, Trollhunter armor proudly displaying itself on the boy, as well as a few already forming bruises. Jim barely looked like he could stand up, let alone walk himself home, so Stricklander was quick to catch Jim before he crashed to the ground. 

“Mr. Strickler?” Jim mumbled, almost as if he didn’t believe that his teacher was there. It almost looked as if talking hurt Jim, Stricklander couldn’t imagine what he had gone through to do that. 

“Do not talk,” Stricklander announced as he helped Jim to his feet, “it might make things worse. I do not know the extent of your injuries but I can do my best to fix you up.” Thankfully, Stricklander had parked his car nearby. The canal was not the best of places to fix up injuries. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't want to write Jim getting beat up so that's why his perspective is shorter than it would've been had I wrote him getting beaten up. Next chapter should be better, I hope, I'm still in the process of writing it at this moment.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Next Chapter: MARCH 25TH! (hopefully, if not then the 1st of April)


End file.
